My German pronouns
I prefer the English pronouns they/them to also be used in German. But read on if you don’t feel comfortable using English words in German sentences.
You may remember me complaining about the missing neutral pronoun in German. Well, unfortunately it’s still missing, and I don’t want to wait for an “official” one any longer. So, I finally decided on a neo-pronoun:
dey/denen (equivalent to the English singular they/them).
For those familiar with German, this pronoun isn’t that neo after all. Only dey is an actually “invented” word. This is necessary because there is nothing comparable to the English singular they. The other grammatical cases already exist in the language.
| Nominative | Possessive | Dative | Accusative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English/German | they | their/theirs | them | |
| German | dey | deren | denen | dey |
You can learn more about how I like to be addressed on my pronouns overview page. And if you think this is way too complicated: I also have a name (Fynn Ellie) that you can always use instead of pronouns. Though you already pick correct pronouns for every binary person out there. It would be great if you could also use correct pronouns for non-binary people like me.
Usage examples
Nominative
Dey ist Frontend-Entwickler*in.
Translation: They are a frontend developer.
Possessive
fynn.be ist deren Website.
Translation: fynn.be is their website.
Dative
Ich bin denen kürzlich begegnet.
Translation: I’ve met them recently.
Accusative
Ich habe dey auf Mastodon gefunden.
Translation: I’ve found them on Mastodon.